Guillermo del Toro Talks FX Series THE STRAIN; Says Casting Has Begun for the Pilot, Which They’ll Shoot Next Year

In addition to being knee-deep in post-production on his next directorial feature, Pacific Rim, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is also juggling a number of other projects in various stages of development. One such project that many are keeping an eye on is an adaptation of the vampire trilogy The Strain, a book series that he co-wrote with Chuck Hogan. FX has given a pilot order to the TV series adaptation, and Lost showrunner Carlton Cuse is also onboard to help develop the show, which is being planned for a limited run of three to five seasons.

Steve recently had the chance to speak with del Toro during a phone interview in anticipation of the release of the DreamWorks Animation film Rise of the Guardians (which he executive produced), and the director gave an update on The Strain, revealing that production on the pilot will get underway next year, likely in Toronto. Hit the jump for more.

During the course of their conversation, del Toro revealed that once he turns in the finished cut of Pacific Rim next July, he’s going begin production on the pilot for The Strain, which he’ll direct. The filmmaker gave an update on where exactly the project is right now:

“Well Chuck Hogan and I are gonna write the pilot together, and we’re starting already to cast. In other words, we’re out to actors with the books and me meeting them and we’re starting to, with a little bit of luck, get a very interesting cast for the series. The pilot has been greenlit, which means that it’s not an ‘if’ but a ‘when,’ we’re gonna shoot it next year. It will shoot very likely in Toronto.”

Del Toro also talked a bit more about the series in an interview with MTV, where he revealed that he hopes to have the show on the air in 2014 should FX spark to their pilot and order it to series. The director also talked about the look and feel of the TV series adaptation:

“Basically I’m trying to do what I do in my movies which is to show it as a reality, but as a reality that is stylized. It’s not like CSI or The Wire, it’s real but it feels a little stylized. But the way the camera work will be is very realistic. We want to keep the camera very documentary even if the look of the show is not. The look of the show is very designed. The style of the camera and the storytelling will be very loose. It will evolve from that feel of reality, and little by little we want to evolve into more stylish, horror feel that requires smoother camera moves, more suspense and atmosphere-driven moments so it will be a mixture. I don’t think that mixture has been seen a lot on TV.”

The innovative filmmaker also discussed the level of gore that will be on display given that it’s a horror series on cable television:

“Well it will certainly be brutal. We are a TV show, we are restrained about how much human gore we can show, but we will be pretty brutal. If you read the novels and you read the comic, there are very, very harrowing human dynamics in the 3 books. Because the vampires in the books, the first people they want to kill are the people they love, so that’s gonna be pretty hardcore [laughs].”

Look for Steve’s full interview with del Toro closer to the release of Rise of the Guardians.